JULIA REIHS / KUT
Medical Marijuana
The Texas Department of Public Safety has begun the process of issuing conditional licenses to two proposed medical marijuana dispensaries in the Houston area as part of the broader expansion of the Texas Compassionate Use Program.
According to the Tuesday announcement, nine businesses will be “conditionally awarded” licenses across seven different regions within the state, pending additional vetting. This includes two companies in Public Health Region 6, which includes eight counties in the greater Houston area, including Harris, Fort Bend, Galveston and Brazoria counties.
The announcement comes less than a month after President Donald Trump passed a federal spending measure that included a nationwide ban on all hemp-derived THC products beginning on Jan. 1, 2027, after a one-year grace period.
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While the impending ban has been called “an extinction-level event” for the recreational hemp industry, it would not ban medical marijuana use in states that have legalized medical dispensaries, but it could cause confusion and roadblocks, according to Healthline.
The two Region 6 awardees are Chicago-based PharmaCann, founded in 2014, and Story of Texas, LLC. According to the Houston Business Journal, Story of Texas, LCC is associated with Story Companies LLC, which has dispensaries in Arizona, Maryland, Louisiana and Ohio.
Conditional licenses do not grant the businesses “permission to cultivate, manufacture, distribute, or sell cannabis products until final approval,” according to DPS. The prospective dispensaries are subject to additional due diligence evaluations, including financial suitability and litigation history, and must comply with all applicable regulatory requirements.
DPS also said in its announcement that issuing conditional licenses does not guarantee final approval.
The conditional licenses are being issued in accordance with House Bill 46, which went into effect in September after passing the state legislature earlier this year. The law permitted the expansion of the Texas Compassionate Use Program, which was created in 2015 with the passage of Senate Bill 339.
HB 46 calls for issuing of a total of 12 new dispensary licenses over a two-phase selection period, with these first nine licenses being a part of the first phase. The final three conditional licenses are expected to be issued by April 1, 2026.